Hi All,
How do I start building a database of openings, buy opening "books" etc?
I "got serious" about improving and bought Chessmaster10, but I see no real way of improving with it apart from straight practice against it's various personalities. I tried loading PGNs into it but without success- so even using to find better moves after I've blundered is slow.
What I'd love to do is learn about & study through the many openings, their variations, etc, as well as build my own database of great games I've found here. At the moment if I save a game's PGN I have no way of opening the game later.
So, for now I've given up again and only use RHP for mucking about with several friends.
All advice welcomed!
Originally posted by shoebox9Best way to improve - brain transplant.
Hi All,
How do I start building a database of openings, buy opening "books" etc?
I "got serious" about improving and bought Chessmaster10, but I see no real way of improving with it apart from straight practice against it's various personalities. I tried loading PGNs into it but without success- so even using to find better moves after I've blundered ...[text shortened]... again and only use RHP for mucking about with several friends.
All advice welcomed!
Originally posted by ivangriceActually, the best known way to improve isn't a brain transplant, is in fact the double kidney transplant. However, in theory, the slaughterhouse 6 transplant (2 lungs, 2 kidneys, heart, and liver) would be the best way to improve. Unfortunatly, it is illegal in 12 countries. A single attempt has been reported of an attempted slaughterhouse 6, the man died because he didn't have any vital organs (lack of planning). They were then sold on the blackmarket for a reported 60,000 which was then donated to the Make a Wish foundation.
Best way to improve - brain transplant.
Originally posted by shoebox9a database will be of no use to you at all ...
Hi All,
How do I start building a database of openings, buy opening "books" etc?
I "got serious" about improving and bought Chessmaster10, but I see no real way of improving with it apart from straight practice against it's various personalities. I tried loading PGNs into it but without success- so even using to find better moves after I've blundered again and only use RHP for mucking about with several friends.
All advice welcomed!
you need contact with moves surrounded by words and meaning ... find them whereever you can : books, annotated databases, loose conversations on rhp ... etc, etc.
a database with no words is of no use to you in your quest.
ps i tried to challenge you to a game with words, but your max is 1500 rating.
Thanks for the laughs as well as adivce so far.
Yes, looking through the higher end games here, I'm often stumped as to why many moves are played, so a database with no annotation would not be as useful as one with.
Any suggestions on where I can toll to find (or even buy) annotated databases?
My challange settings have just been cleared. I respect those who've worked hard to be where they are and wouldn't think of asking for free tuition, but if any is generously offered....
Meanwhile, I'm willing to put in hard work myself, so direction in study would be greatly appreciated! 🙂
Originally posted by shoebox9Read this site until you know it backwards: http://www.chesstactics.org/
Thanks for the laughs as well as adivce so far.
Yes, looking through the higher end games here, I'm often stumped as to why many moves are played, so a database with no annotation would not be as useful as one with.
Any suggestions on where I can toll to find (or even buy) annotated databases?
My challange settings have just been cleared. I respec ...[text shortened]... willing to put in hard work myself, so direction in study would be greatly appreciated! 🙂
Then do a lot of puzzles on here...http://chess.emrald.net/
Make sure you know all the basic mating patterns. Just google them.
D
Originally posted by shoebox9Have you gone through Waitzkin's Chess Academy? I found it extremely useful; it would have been worth buying Chessmaster 10 just for that.
I "got serious" about improving and bought Chessmaster10, but I see no real way of improving with it apart from straight practice against it's various personalities.
Perhaps I gave up on it too quickly.
Using the "hint" help in the training play area, early game play was helped from a variety of opening books, which seemed extremely powerful to me, and game me a hunger to explore/investigate opening books more.
The sad thing about this software is that only the engine has access to it's vast collection of opening books.
Perhaps I'm wrong, but it seems to me that chess is a game of learning what more brilliant people have done in similar positions in the past, and learning from it, rather than trying to beat my own path through well understood (by others) teritory, game after game.
Originally posted by shoebox9One book I liked was 'Best Lessons of a Chess Coach'
Hi All,
How do I start building a database of openings, buy opening "books" etc?
I "got serious" about improving and bought Chessmaster10, but I see no real way of improving with it apart from straight practice against it's various personalities. I tried loading PGNs into it but without success- so even using to find better moves after I've blundered ...[text shortened]... again and only use RHP for mucking about with several friends.
All advice welcomed!
by Weemerantry, not sure if I spelled that correctly or not.
It is taken from actual blackboard chess lessons with kids and he
presents a position and asks the kids to say what they thought,
like 'what are the imbalances in the position' or 'which side has
the stronger pawn structure' and the kids answers are duly noted
and some of them are actually right, so he goes over the answers
and shows whats up with a position. It goes like that through the
book, great study.
Also there is a great book by Tal, "The life and games of Mikhail Tal"
It talks about his life, written by Tal (World champ in 1960) and
his games from when he was ten or so up to the time he died.
It goes over the games in great detail, showing his thoughts about
the postition and such.
There is a classic book on pawn structure called Pawn Power in chess
by Hans Kmoch, he gives his own quirky names to pawn shapes
but its a great study of how pawn positions dictate the course of the
game.
There are lots of great books out there but those three will give you
a solid start.
Also study the endgames, there is a great book by Ruben Fine
the endgame, I think its called, he has one on openings, middle
and endings. If you don't know endings, you don't know how to steer
a middle game. That is to say, if you recognize that a certain middle
game you are in looks like it might end up in an endgame situation
that you are already familiar with, you don't need to spend so much
time calculating if I do this, he does that, then I do this,etc.
You know because its a pattern recognition kind of thing and the
calculation is over, you know how to steer it into a favorable ending.
But only if you had studied engames in the first place, see what I
mean?